THE INSTITUTION
The High Inspector of Justice is the competent authority responsible for verifying complaints, conducting ex officio investigations concerning judicial and prosecutorial misconduct and initiating disciplinary proceedings against judges and prosecutors of all levels, members of the High Judicial Council, members of the High Prosecutorial Council, and the Prosecutor General, as well as conducting thematic and institutional inspections.
To verify complaints or investigate disciplinary violations involving the above subjects, the Inspector may act upon a written complaint submitted by any individual or legal entity, or any interested public body. The High Inspector may also initiate investigations ex officio, based on publicly available information or information obtained through institutional or thematic inspections, concerning any aspect of the work of the courts, judicial administration, prosecution offices, and prosecutorial administration; they may be initiated upon a reasoned written request from the High Judicial Council, the High Prosecutorial Council, the Minister of Justice, the Prosecutor General, or in accordance with the annual inspection plan.
Regarding thematic and institutional inspections, the core objective is the in-depth review of a specific area of activity and the provision of recommendations aimed at improving the identified situation and resolving the detected issues. Inspections may serve an informative function, to assess the effectiveness of a magistrate’s or institution’s activity, or may be investigative, aiming to identify and document disciplinary violations for the purpose of initiating disciplinary proceedings, if such violations are found in the reviewed documentation. Similar to the treatment of complaints, inspection proposals may be addressed to the High Inspector of Justice by justice system bodies, other public institutions and entities, private legal persons acting in defence of specific interests (e.g. associations, organizations), or may be initiated at the Inspector’s own initiative following public denunciations, analysis of public complaints, obligations deriving from domestic institutions (such as Parliament), or international partners (e.g. the European Union in the framework of integration processes). The annual inspection calendar is approved at the beginning of each calendar year by the General Assembly of Inspectors.
The High Inspector of Justice is the head of the Office of the High Inspector of Justice and exercises his functions independently. Any direct or indirect interference in the Inspector’s duties related to complaint verification, investigations, or inspections, or in relation to a specific subject, gives rise to legal liability.
